


One Of the Many Times Thomas Jefferson Accidentally Screwed His Friend Over

by elliot_cant_write



Series: Cold War AU kinda [3]
Category: Hamilton - Fandom, Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: 50s au, Aaron burr didn't ask for any of this, F/M, and me too man, dolley Madison is beautiful and I love her, james is awkward and doesn't know how to talk to the girl he likes, jefferson owns a paper, or like around the 50s
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-05
Updated: 2017-01-05
Packaged: 2018-09-14 23:01:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,751
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9209165
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elliot_cant_write/pseuds/elliot_cant_write
Summary: Dolley Madison wants a cat.James Madison temporarily forgets he's allergic to cats.Thomas Jefferson is no help at all.And Aaron Burr just wants to go home to his wife and daughter.





	

James Madison really liked Dolley Payne. More than he was comfortable with, actually. And who could blame him? She was amazing and, if he was being fully honest, way too good for him. He was, to put it lightly, an absolute mess. And an idiot. And in grave need of some kind of counselling.

"That seems a bit harsh," James ran his finger over the rim of his coffee cup, giving the man in front of him an unamused look. "I can hardly afford all my medical bills as it is without adding in whatever you advise."

Thomas Jefferson didn't look like he agreed, nor like he was particularly sorry for essentially suggesting that his supposed best friend destroy himself financially. And unlike James, he didn't seem particularly uncomfortable with the fact that they were loudly discussing all this in a public coffee shop. "Can we at least agree that this is arguably one of the most idiotic things you have ever agreed to? And keep in mind, you were once friends with Hamilton."

James hated to admit it, but he did have a point. Not about the whole Hamilton thing, but about his tendency to make bad choices when Dolley was involved, this only being another example. "Can you just save the insults for later and help me?"

Thomas let out an overly dramatic sigh. "Can't you just tell her that you're allergic to cats?"

"No!" When a few people at surrounding tables turned to stare, James lowered his voice and leaned forward. "No. She already asked and I told her I wasn't."

"Why would you do that? Do you have a death wish?" 

James groaned, burying his face in his hands. "I panicked, okay? She really wants a kitten."

"I swear, I was never this much of a disaster when I was dating Martha," Thomas took a long sip of his own coffee before loudly slamming it down on the table, no doubt for dramatic effect. "Alright, here's what we are going to do. Dolley generally stops by the office each afternoon on her way home, right?" At James' nod, he continued. "I'll mention to her a few things about kittens making poor pets or something. Hopefully, she'll take it to heart and decide you'd both be better off without one. Having solved that problem, you'll once again be free to focus your time and energy on more important things, such as outselling Hamilton on his first week."

"Are you sure that will work?" James asked anxiously. He chose to ignore Thomas' ending point; all he had been talking about for the past month was making sure that their company's paper sold more copies than Hamilton's when the man finally took over for Washington. James didn't care so much, but it was obviously extremely important to Thomas. Still, there were much more pressing problems. "Dolley is smart, you know."

"Sure," Thomas' tone heavily implied that he doubted anyone's intelligence was in range of his. Unsurprising. "Anyway, I want to finish this conversation by noting that this whole issue could have been avoided had you only told Dolley about your cat allergy when you told her about all your other problems."

James scowled, something only a little bit off from his normal facial expression. "Can we please just go back to work?"

"Gladly," Thomas took both of their coffee cups and threw them out. "Walk or take the bus?"

James looked out the window at the small frozen pond and then at the extremely crowded benches at the bus station. "Walk."

~~~

"Hi, Aaron!" Dolley Madison leaned over the counter of Jefferson's Press House, smiling at the poor man who had gotten afternoon desk duty all week, Aaron Burr. "Is James here?"

"He's in the back with Jefferson," Aaron told her, brushing a few snow flurries off of his desk. "Who told me that I am to let you into his office as soon as you get here. It seemed urgent."

Dolley suddenly switched from excited to anxious, beginning to chew on her bottom lip. "Urgent? Is James alright?"

"Is he ever?" Aaron said dryly. At Dolley's glare, he resigned himself to look properly serious. "I'm sure he's fine. I saw the two of them come back from their coffee break a few hours ago and neither looked particularly concerned."

Dolley didn't look very reassured (James could literally be dying and not seem worried and she wasn't entirely convinced that Jefferson actually had emotions when it came to people other than himself) but she did leave Aaron alone and that was good enough for him. 

Aaron sighed, picking up the phone to call Jefferson's office. He did not get paid enough for this. 

~~~

Thomas and James had been "working" when they got the call from the front desk that Dolley was there. There had been some debate as to whether or not what they were doing qualified as work (Thomas was complaining about Hamilton and James was pretending to listen to him) but they were in agreement that it kind of contributed to bettering the paper so at least there was that 

"Burr sent her up." Jefferson said, hanging up his phone and spinning his chair around to face James. He pressed his fingers together in a way that reminded James fleetingly of a movie villain. "Do you think you can let me talk without further screwing things up?"

Whatever James had been about to say in response to that was thankfully cut off by a loud knock at the door. 

"Come in," Thomas shot him one last dont-you-dare-mess-this-up look before standing to greet their visitor. "Ah, Dolley. How lovely to see you again. Do come in."

James mentally face palmed. This was the man the future of his relationship relied on. 

"Hi, Thomas," Dolley sounded decently confused, understandable as Thomas usually didn't seem so pleased with her visits. regardless, she recovered quickly and smiled at James. "Hi, James. Is everything okay?"

"Of course," James' response came exactly as Thomas answered with "Not at all."

However in the end it was Thomas who got to carry the conversation, to the surprise of absolutely no one. "I heard that you've been thinking about getting a kitten," He said, his fake tone of concern so convincing that James was almost certain he would have believed it had he not known better. "Have you not seen the new studies that are coming out? Most veterinarians are in agreement that keeping a cat as a pet can be harmful to the health of both the person and the animal."

"Um, okay," Dolley looked between the two men and when her eyes were on him, James attempted to force his face into something that hopefully resembled a vaguely reassuring smile. "I haven't read any studies on the matter, although I suppose I'll take your word for it." Already she seemed to be considering Thomas's words and James let out a quiet sigh of relief when she said thoughtfully, "I've always kind of wanted a bird."

"Birds I have heard make exceptional pets," Jefferson said encouragingly. "I myself used to have one and I think you would quite enjoy it."

"Great," Dolley turned to James, giving him a quick hug. It seemed a bit awkward due to their height difference, but they were more than used to it. "I'll see you tonight." She told him. 

He nodded. "Bye, Dolley." 

The second the door closed, Thomas fell back into his chair, spinning idly. "I think that went well."

~~~

The next evening, James and Dolley sat on their respective ends if the couch. James was editing an article for one of the other reporters as Dolley was buried in a book about some medical thing that James refused to ask about for fear that he'd somehow manage to develop whatever it was. It was almost completely silent, save somebody stomping around in the apartment above them. The stomping was actually surprisingly soothing, and James had almost began to drift off to sleep when Dolley spoke. 

"You know, I asked a few people at work if they had heard about that study Thomas mentioned yesterday," To someone who knew her not as well, Dolley sounded nonchalant, but James knew her well enough to hear the carefully masked annoyance and he felt his heart speed up slightly. Thomas and Dolley were the confrontational ones, not him. "None of them had any memory of hearing or reading about it. Odd, isn't it?"

"Quite," James agreed, setting his pen down as his hands had begun to shake slightly. Again, not the confrontational one in their relationship. "Maybe it was just published."

Dolley rolled her eyes, set her book down, and turned to face him. "James, I know the two of you lied. I'm not even particularly mad about it; I'm just confused as to why."

"Oh, well, you see," James forced himself to face her as well. She had her eyebrows raised and was chewing her lip and James instantly was hit by a wave of guilt. "I'mallergictocats." He rushed out, immediately preparing himself to lose one of the few people in his life who made an effort to put up with his odd personality and unending health problems. What he wasn't expecting in response was a sharp snort of laughter. 

"For a couple of supposed geniuses, you and Thomas manage to make some of the dumbest decisions." She covered her mouth, but James could still see the laughter in her eyes. 

"I'm really sorry," He said, making a conscious effort to hold her hand. He wasn't the best at social graces and such, but it seemed like an appropriate gesture given the situation. "You seemed so excited about the kitten and I didn't know how to tell you without completely ruining that and subsequently feeling like a terrible human being."

"That would hardly make you a terrible person," Dolley scoffed. "Besides, I'm already just as excited about the bird. I even have a whole list of potential names picked out."

"Do you really?" James felt a smile tugging at the corner of his lips. 

"Of course," She moved closer, leaning her head on his shoulder to look at what he was editing. "Would you like to hear it?"

"Of course."

With Dolley right next to him, listing off various names she was found of, James really only had one big thing he wanted to change about his life. That being, of course, whatever had possessed him to take advise from Thomas Jefferson.

**Author's Note:**

> Hi I spent five hours at the DMV and spent like two of them thinking about how James Madison seems like he would be a cat person but he didn't have any so he must be allergic. I relate.   
> Anyway yeah so this is arguably the most fun I've ever had writing anything. Yay for the least stressful thing I currently have going on in my life.   
> Thanks for reading!!


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